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Brianna Anderson took to the circle last Friday in the same frame of mind as always.

“I always feel like it’s my day,” the Gloucester High School pitcher said. “I just have so much confidence in myself, I know what I’m capable of.”

In a 17-0 blowout of Wildwood, Anderson showed it. She struck out 11 and threw a perfect game in the five-inning affair, her third in the past two years as a starter.

“She’s put the work in and is seeing the results,” Lions’ coach Megan Mason said. “It’s pretty rewarding for her just because of how much work she puts in.

“So much of it is her mindset. Getting mentally prepared, she’s going out there knowing she has good stuff that day.”

Anderson wasn’t alone with her banner day. Freshman shortstop Megan Ferry hit a grand slam. It’s the third time in 2017 that Ferry’s done it.

“She’s just like Bri where she puts in that work every day,” Mason explained. “She had to step into a key position and learned a lot there since the beginning of the season.”

Gloucester owns a 10-4 mark with wins in its last four games. A date with Pitman is Friday, but the big one is Saturday.

At 7 p.m., the Lions will tangle with rival Gloucester Catholic at the city’s ponytail fields.

“For us, we’re just trying to win the conference,” Mason said. “We go one step at a time, it’s just another game.”

Anderson knows the atmosphere goes beyond any other contest.

“It’s a lot to handle,” the senior said. “It’s a very fun and exciting game. It’s very intense and always so loud. If someone can’t handle playing in front of big crowds, that’s not the type of game they want to play in.”

'GADES GET GOING

A couple weeks ago, Shawnee coach Paula Escudero called a team meeting.

She asked her Renegades to assess their team as either good, average or poor.

After a pause, pitcher Kayla Pagano supplied a response.

“She said, ‘We’re an average team with the potential to be great,’” Escudero recalled. “No one has ever said it so eloquently.

“I said, from this moment on, we’re going to work to be that great team every single game.”

Shawnee’s won six of seven since and is ranked No. 9 in the Courier-Post Mean 15. The lone loss came in the Hammonton Invitational Tournament last Saturday by a 4-2 count to No. 6 Millville.

The lineup’s taken turns with delivery of key hits, which had plagued the Renegades (9-3) until the hot stretch.

Escudero’s coaxed the best out of her club with inspiration from Pagano.

“Everyone says it’s not about winning and I understand that, I know it can’t just be about winning,” Escudero said. “But, I asked them, ‘Why do we play Monopoly? Why do we play Uno? We play to have fun, but if we’re playing Uno, I’m going to try to beat you.’

“We have to have a purpose and we’re here to win. I think keying on knowing and believing they have so much potential to be better than they are and then they go and beat Washington Township (7-3 on April 21). I said, ‘I’ve been telling you you’re capable of this all along.’”

EAGLES FIND THEIR WINGS

West Deptford won its first South Jersey title in 20 years last June. With only five starters back (two of them are pitchers Paige Schlecter and Amanda Patch), the Eagles had to retool.

“The first day of practice, I didn’t know what type of goals to set,” coach Mandy Schramm said. “The goal was to get better and just improve individually every game.”

Schramm’s group took it on the chin early with a three-game skid to open the slate, outscored 29-11 by Cumberland, Pennsville and Audubon.

The last 10 games have provided better results. West Deptford entered Thursday 9-1 in the span.

Senior Emily Engles and junior Jess McGivern have helped Schlecter and Patch lead the way.

“We’re coming to a point where we can define ourselves,” Schramm added. “We can kind of see things. We want to win tomorrow, we think we should win and there’s an air of confidence while we’re still humble and know we have to work. They’re figuring out their abilities, what they can and can’t do.”

It’s a far cry from the team that expected to make a deep run in the postseason a year ago. Still, Schramm enjoys the change.

“It’s the reason why I love coaching high school,” she said. “You go from pretty much managing very skilled players, managing a game, strategizing and letting the players do most of the work like last year.

“Then, I missed the teaching again. Now I’m back to teaching the basic fundamentals and you see such an improvement every day. There’s something to be said for that. You can’t see mental growth but last year, you knew they were growing mentally. Now, you see physical growth. That’s the cycle of high school coaching.”

RED DEVILS REDEEMED IN TOURNEY

The Hammonton Invitational came at a perfect time for Rancocas Valley.

Losers in two of three contests prior to the 16-team tournament, the Red Devils got some swagger back.

Four wins in two days gave RV its fourth Hammonton title, third-most of any program.

“It was very important,” coach Becky Perkins said. “Keeping the momentum is key and keeping them right-sized. We have to be confident, not cocky.

“Senior prom is this Friday night, so again, the end of the season comes and a lot of time sthere’s other stuff going on. You’ve got to keep them on track, keep them focused, keep them here on the field, which is always a challenge no matter what team you have.”

The Red Devils came into Thursday at 13-2 and No. 2 in the Mean 15.

MILESTONES ALL OVER

A triple with the bases loaded on Wednesday lifted Caroline Muccifori into unchartered territory.

The Moorestown speedster – who will play at TCNJ next season – became the first player in school history to reach the 100-hit plateau.

That three-run hit came in an 8-0 shutout of Burlington Township and put Muccifori alone in the Quakers’ record books.

The same could be said for Our Lady of Mercy Academy’s Madison Hagerty, who got hit No. 100 on her 18th birthday. It came in a 5-4 triumph over Holy Spirit on May 1.

Like Muccifori, Hagerty’s the first Villager to do it.

Erika Coreth of Washington Township hit the same milestone in a 5-0 victory over Bishop Eustace on Wednesday.

Each of the previous players are seniors. Elaina Hansen of Clearview, a junior, nailed a grand slam against Glassboro on Thursday.

The blast came as No. 99 for her career. Later, Hansen rapped a two-run single for triple digits.